Glutamic acid and glutamates

General information

Among other drugs glutamic acid has been proposed to be neuroprotective, and it has been used to reduce vincristine neurotoxicity [ ]. In a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, concurrent oral administration of 500 mg glutamic acid tds with vincristine reduced the incidence of subjective and objective signs of vincristine neurotoxicity; however, there were no differences in constipation, weakness, or loss of knee reflexes [ ].

Folic acid (pteroylglutamic acid), a vitamin of the B group, is the subject of a separate monograph.

A synthetic analogue of thalidomide (qv), methyl-4-phthalimido- dl -glutamate, was teratogenic in rabbits [ ]. Thalidomide and its two isoglutamine derivatives caused an increase in sensitivity of intracellular hemoglobin to oxidation by nitrite ions in rats; simultaneous administration of pyridoxine and riboflavin prevented or corrected this change [ ].